Tamamo no Mae let us down and patted us on the head. A wicked smile, one that was filled with so much malice that shook me to my core, flashed across her face. I hadn't seen a look like that since Beatrice, but even she didn't compare to this… terror.

The nine-tailed fox yokai stood a towering eight feet at the tip of her ears. A powerful aura, much like my own, blasted me like I'd just open the door of a preheated oven. She threw both arms out to her sides, then breathed in so deeply that it sucked the oxygen right from my lungs.

It wasn't until she walked past us was I able to breathe again. However…

"Hey! Fox-face, where the hell is Uta?" Mio shouted to her back.

When Tamamo glanced over her shoulder to us, an invisible force brought us both to our knees.

"Uta? I haven't the faintest idea. All I did was draw from your memories who you wanted to hear from the most. Thank you for that, by the way. For freeing me, I shall forgive your ill-mannered tone. Do not speak to me that way again," Tamamo warned before vanishing in a puff of smoke.

The sunny skies of Takamagahara seemed to become a shade dimmer. Instead of just the bright blue horizon, there was now an enormous moon and night slowly vying for territory.

"What… have you done?"

We traded a scary yokai for an angry goddess.

Mio and I were able to move again, but we were met with an army of tengu and Amaterasu. The goddess faced the open shrine and shredded rope, her fists clenched, eyes twitching, and shaking all over in anger.

"Arrest them!" Amaterasu ordered the tengu, who quickly moved in to force us to the ground with mancatcher rods.

"Wait, Raijin told us this was Uta's shrine! He's the one that lied to us! H-He even gave us this charm!" I raised my right wrist which the charm was tied on like a bracelet and Mio did the same.

Amaterasu grabbed my arm to inspect it, then ripped it from my wrist to burn it into ashes.

"Not only did you release an unspeakable calamity back to Earth, but you also seek to frame my own brother with some petty, mortal-made charm?" Amaterasu wreathed herself in an intense fire that even the tengu backed away.

"Fake…? Wait— Did you say Earth?" I asked.

"Tamamo no Mae is a yokai more dangerous than the worst of your kind, succubus. She brings misfortune with every step and disaster from a mere breath. Because of your misguided actions, both Takamagahara and Japan may fall to ruin." She waved a hand to shut the shrine doors and rose into the sky.

Amaterasu's eyes were fixed at the approaching night, and the strain on her face was apparent. While I expected her to be more furious at us— and she certainly was— it felt as though her concerns were elsewhere and more distant.

Did it have something to do with night? An itching sensation at the back of my mind was telling me I should know. It was at the tip of my tongue, but I'm at a loss.

That wasn't important right now. Everyone back home was in danger.

If mine and Mio's powers didn't work on Tamamo no Mae, then the other succubi wouldn't be able to face her either. This was shaping up to be a huge mess, and Amaterasu didn't believe us one bit. That Raijin… did he really trick us this entire time?

What the hell did he have to gain for Tamamo being released?

"I-I didn't know Tamamo no Mae was inside. I swear it was Uta's voice I heard! If… If there's anything I can do to help make this right, please tell me!" I pleaded to her.

"There is nothing you can do." Amaterasu scoffed. "I should throw both of you into prison for an eternity for what you have done. However, I believe a more fitting punishment awaits in your soon-to-be ruined world."

"Wait just a damn second! Whatever that seal you had on this place got the stank of demon magic on it, and I wanna know why!" Mio demanded.

"How should I know? It was your kind that tampered with it," she said.

One of the tengu threw a paper talisman to the ground next to faces. From it, two lines of light fired out from the sides to envelope us. The next thing we knew, we tumbled into a stone lantern in Fukuo Shrine back in Japan.

Amaterasu had sent us back.

I ran to Kon's shrine and rapped my knuckles incessantly on the door. "Hey, Kon! Open up!"

"Go away! I'm not opening this door under any circumstances!" Kon shouted from within.

"Come on, foxy-boy. I'll give you one of those footjobs you love so much," Mio offered.

A pause of silence either meant he was seriously considering it or decided to outright ignore us.

"Tempting… but I rather not risk it. I already heard what happened because of Takamagahara sounding the alarm. Tamamo no Mae is out there in your world, which means I'm safer here," he said.

Both of us tried to get him to come out or at least talk to us some more, but all we got in return was silence after that. All I wanted to do was give Uta his freedom, but now…

A cold droplet of rain fell onto my cheek, followed by a shower that was quickly worsening into a storm. The kimonos that Yuzuki gave us were getting soaked. Since Kon wasn't  going to be of any help, we headed straight home.

"Oh, what happened to you two? And why are you dressed in kimonos at a time like this?" Hatsumi asked as we came in.

"Ah… Kaede wanted us to model some of her kimonos, then it started raining so we rushed home!" I hastily explained.

Of course, it was a lie. I wasn't going to tell Hatsumi that I let loose a dangerous yokai into the world.

"Well, it's a good thing you two came back early. The news just broadcasted a severe weather alert. I hope it passes soon." She sighed at the darkening skies before shutting the door.

Later that night, I had a hard time falling asleep. Sex was usually on my mind, but not tonight. That was how bad it was. I thought about going over to Kana's, hoping he could take my mind off things until Mio entered my room. She was dressed in a long t-shirt that went down to her knees. Nothing about the look in her eyes told me she was here for the usual.

"Couldn't sleep?" I asked the obvious as Mio slipped into my bed.

"Been getting some bad vibes ever since coming back, and I don't like it one bit. I can't help but feel responsible." Mio pursed her lips.

"You shouldn't… I'm the one who broke the seal."

"There's a good chance Beatrice and the demon lord were behind the tampering." She sighed.

That was quite the accusation, but also the only one that made sense.  However, neither of them were in this world anymore. Hopefully, both of them were gone for good. If Mio was sure that they were the cause, then it must have happened some time ago.

"What makes you think that?" I asked.

"I told you before that the succubi race wasn't native to Elza, right? They were actually brought in from another world by the demon lord to serve in his army. I'm part of the first generation of Elza-born succs. From what little I understand, the demon lord was able to traverse through worlds. You following what I'm saying?" Mio asked.

"The demon lord must have stumbled into Earth and Takamagahara when searching for more allies. Then… they were trying to form an alliance with Tamamo?" I wondered aloud.

However, neither Beatrice or the demon lord should have known about the powerful yokai. They had to have gotten help from a kami that was helping them, and right now, the only culprit I could think of was that bastard Raijin.

"What'd that bitch call herself again? Master of disguises or some shit. If she can dress up and change her voice into anyone, there's no way we can find her," Mio said.

"There's one way. Her aura," I reminded her. "We have succubus spread out over Japan, it shouldn't be too hard to sense something as powerful as that. The problem is how to fight her, because we couldn't do anything at the time."

"If my shitty sis had anything to do with this, Hana might know more. As the eldest among us, she used to be close with Bea until they had a falling out. We should talk to her tomorrow," she suggested.

After having decided our plan of action, we tried to go to sleep. Guilt wracked my mind through the night until Mio used magic to put me to sleep.

We were getting ready to go to school in the morning when Hatsumi brought out ponchos instead of umbrellas because of the weather. The rain hadn't let up. In fact, it got worse through the night. Imagine my surprise when I woke up and thought it was still night.

"Hmmm… It's been a while since I wore a rain poncho. It feels weird wearing one in the middle of winter when all I used to need was an umbrella," I bemoaned the tacky article of outerwear.

"Kahahaha! You look like you're wearing a trash bag! Holy shit, my stomach… It's too funny…" Mio cackled so hard she was shaking.

I threw a second rain poncho right into Mio's face to shut her up.

"You're going to lose an umbrella, bringing one out there in this storm." I sighed.

Hatsumi poked her head into the foyer from the living room and said, "Be careful going to school, okay?"

We followed her back into the living room after she gestured us in. The news on TV was broadcasting severe flood warnings along the levees and bodies of water. Although Tsukiji was on the coast, we lived far enough in the city not to worry about the tides. The many artificial riverbanks that run along the city helped with that, but too much rainfall might be bad.

"Am I putting this on right?" Mio's question came muffled.

Hatsumi and I turned to see that she had worn it backwards, and the hood was covering her face. After my sister helped put it on properly for her, she sent us off with a bento and urged us to be careful another three more times until we left.

The rain really was coming down hard. Heavy showers mixing in with the leftover snow created slush along the sidewalk and roads. A pretty dangerous combination when you weren't sure which areas had a thin layer of ice underneath the water.

Just as I think that—

"Whoa!" 

As we walked along the sidewalk, my feet slipped right out from underneath me. Mio caught me just in time, so I didn't fall onto my ass.

"Geez. You think it's really that Tamamo bitch causing all this?" Mio asked.

"Has to be. The forecast this entire month was sunny and frigid cold, no rain. Then the instant Tamamo escapes and everything changes. I just hope this is the extent of it. If anything worse happens, I—"

"Help! Someone fell into the river!"

Our attention was drawn to the cries of a group of girls. They were staring at someone who had fallen into the river. The person's head bobbed up and down, barely on the surface and flailing both hands for help.

I slid down the grassy bank while letting down my poncho and schoolbag, then dove into the water. The current was strong, but swimming along it with my succubus strength easily allowed me to catch up. When I lifted the student up just as she submerged, I was surprised to see who it was.

"Kaede?!"

Mio was waiting further down by the edge of the bank. I handed Kaede to her first, then climbed up on my own. The budding doujin artist coughed up water as soon as she was back on land.

"What happened? Did you fall into the water?" I asked her.

"No…" Kaede shook her head and looked to be on the verge of crying. "I slipped earlier and dropped my bag…"

"Damn, girl. You jumped into the water for a schoolbag?" Mio asked, accidentally setting Kaede off.

"The entire volume 3 of my manga manuscript was in there!" she cried, the pain in her voice startled me and Mio into silence. "I… I was bringing it to school to get it printed in the computer room, but now…"

The misfortunes were beginning. No, chances were it had been going on since last night, and I was only now seeing it happen to the people I knew.

"Mio, make sure Kaede gets to school safely. I'll catch up." I threw my poncho over her and started following the river's current.

"Wait, you're not seriously going to— Everything will be all wet and smudged up anyway. It's okay! I'll start over. You don't have to risk yourself in the water!" Kaede shouted to my back.

"Don't worry, I'm a pretty good swimmer. And after reading the first two volumes you gave us, I'm dying to know what happens next." I smiled, then took off running before she could plead for me to stop.

When no one was watching, I casted invisibility on myself so that I could fly and catch up to find Kaede's bag. It had gone pretty far, but I managed to find it partially submerged against a drain gate. Everything inside was soaked. The manuscript was actually an entire drawing book, and the pages had become wet enough to stick together. Much of the drawings were smudged like Kaede said. It wasn't salvageable, but she could at least use it as a frame of reference once it dries.

I arrived at school late and sopping wet.

"Ah-choo! Guh… I better not catch a cold…"

Thankfully, no one was around. I used magic to wick away most of the water, then dried myself with magical heat. As I headed upstairs to the floor of my class, my stomach growled in protest of having not sexually feasted in a while.

"Hey, you should be in class!" A male teacher called out to me from down the hall.

"Perfect timing," I said.

I charmed the teacher into having sex with me in a bathroom stall. While he pounded into me doggystyle, I checked my phone to get a better grasp of what's going on on social media. A lot of people were complaining about having a shittier day than usual.

"Whew. I needed that," he said after cumming inside me. "After burning my shirt with an iron and spilling coffee on my laptop, I thought things would get worse. Getting to have sex with a student just made my day!"

"Glad I could be of service~" I pulled my skirt up.

When I got to class, my homeroom teacher let me off the hook with a warning for being late. Kaede was thankful to have her bag back and apologized profusely that I went out of the way to help her. If it wasn't for the misfortune going around, that wouldn't have happened to her. It was only right that I took responsibility for it.

At the start of lunch, Mio and I were getting up to meet with Hana in the infirmary when we found Kana hanging by the hallway, holding his phone.

"What's got you down in the dumps?" Mio asked as we walked up to him.

"My tutor just got into a car accident. Had to cancel all our sessions this month. Talk about crappy timing since I needed his help with entrance exams." Kana sighed.

"Oh, right. We have those… Can't you find a new tutor?" I asked.

"I can, but he's got a good track record of students getting high grades. I'll just have to find a new tutor and ramp up my studies. Anyway, where are you two headed?" He put his phone away and, after taking a good look at both of us, already suspected something was up.

Mio and I traded glances, unsure if now was the best time to tell Kana. Sensing our hesitation, he left it at that and urged us to get going to do what we needed to do.

"We'll tell you later… Just watch your feet when you walk home," I cautioned, but Kana snatched my hand as I was about to leave.

"Same for you two. Somehow, you're always getting into trouble. Try not to shoulder too much, alright? If you need help, you can always come to me." He smiled.

I looked up and down the hallway to make sure we were the only ones around, then gave Kana a kiss. His words always put me at ease. It's been this way since we met way back when.

"Me, too! Me, too!" Mio shoved me against the window for a smooch.

"Guys, please… save that for after school or someone will see!" Kana warned, shooing us off.

Hana was waiting in the infirmary with Yumi and Shayle when we arrived. We gave them the short of what transpired in Takamagahara, and a shadow fell across their expressions.

"You two are right to believe Beatrice and the demon lord had something to do with it," Yumi said, her eyes wide open after hearing the story.

"What do you guys know about the demons coming to Japan during your war?" I asked.

"We were losing," Shayle began. "Dark elves and succubi, the demon forces… our might combined couldn't defeat the allied might of the Everlight's armies, especially not with so many beastkins constantly launching sneak attacks on us. The demon lord grew reclusive towards the later stages of the war. Now we know why."

"Hana? You and Bea used to strategize a lot. Anything you wanna add?" Mio brought Hana into the conversation since she had been listening quietly this entire time.

It wasn't like the pink-haired helion to be silent or brooding. Maybe it lent to how serious the situation was.

"It's true. Beatrice and our big bad boss were desperate for allies when they failed to convince the beastkin's chieftain to join us. The truth is, the idea to go to Earth… was my suggestion," Hana confessed, hanging her head in shame.

"You?" I gasped.

"Well, shit. That explains how you were familiar with Earth from the start," Mio said.

"Yeah… I'd already been here a few times and knew about super duper strong monsters your people call yokai. When I brought it up to Bea, she thought it was a great idea. We hatched a plan, snuck into Takamagahara, and tried to bargain with Tamamo," she explained further.

"But what happened?" Shayle asked. "Why didn't you bring back allies to help us win the war?"

"Beatrice got scared. We learned real quick that the thing we were about to release was batshit evil and decided not to go through with it," Hana said.

Batshit evil? Bad enough that Beatrice and the demon lord wanted nothing to do with her?

"One more question: did a kami named Raijin help you guys get into Takamagahara?" I looked Hana in the eyes and received a confused stare.

"Hmm… Definitely not a god. Think he was another yokai. His name was Mu… Mu…"

"Mutoh?" Mio and I uttered at once.

"That's the one!" Hana exclaimed.

We had more questions than answers now. Was Raijin in on it? Was he not? No way would the priest go against his own kami… would he?

"Saeko, if there's anything I can do to make up for this, please let me help!" she insisted.

"Thanks, Hana. Unfortunately, there's not a lot we can do. For now, we need to mobilize every succubus to be on the search for Tamamo. Finding and subjugating her should be at the top of our priority," I said.

Yumi, Hana, and Shayle brought Selene in and would start making calls to succubi living in other cities to be on the lookout. 

Misfortune was a spectrum. Inconveniences were the least dangerous, but someone with the worst luck could find themselves getting hurt or worse. If Mio and I hadn't come across Kaede when we did, she might have drowned. We had to nip Tamamo in the bud before things got worse.

However, after searching for half the day once school was over and getting nowhere, all I was doing was tiring myself out.

"We ain't getting anywhere like this. Best we turn in and start again tomorrow," Mio said.

"Just one more time around the city. Tamamo's got to be here somewhere." I squinted across the skyline, wondering where she was.

As I was about to fly off, Mio grabbed me by the arm.

"Even if we do find her, it won't do us any good being so exhausted. C'mon, we'll spend the night at Kana's and fill up. Let the others keep searching," she implored.

It didn't seem fair that I should slack while the other succubi were still looking. Regardless, Mio was right. My sexual energy was running dry. Even if we discovered Tamamo, we wouldn't be able to fight her.

I dropped Kana a text that we were coming over, but he didn't respond. Mio chalked it up to him being in the bathroom or too deep in studying, which according to her, was all the more reason we drop by to spice his night up. As we flew through the storm to get to his house, eager for a night-long threesome, the lights in the neighborhoods below began to flicker. A black out hit the city, knocking off the lights in homes and on the streets. Cars screeched to a halt at traffic stops, people in their homes groaned at their luck, and night owls threw their hands in the air because the streetlamps had gone out.

Kana's house was no exception and was pitch dark just like every other house in the area. We flew up to the second floor window of his room and knocked.

"Kana?" I quietly called.

There was no answer.

"Hey, the door isn't locked!" Mio said from below.

Weird. Kana wouldn't leave the front door unlocked like this.

"Oh, I didn't expect to meet you two again so soon," my own voice said from inside the house.

I threw open the door. Sitting on the couch inside and drinking from a cup that smelled of coffee was… me, in my human form.

"What the…" Mio flicked her gaze between the two of us. "I mean, I'm down to have a threesome with two Saekos, but something ain't right here."

"That's not me! It's Tamamo disguised as me!" I exclaimed.

"Haha! Good catch. When I searched your memories, I found that you were fond of this boy in particular. He was very sweet and accommodating." Tamamo smirked, transforming back into her humanoid kitsune form.

"Paws off our cum hydrant!" Mio growled.

"What did you do to Kana?" I returned to my succubus form to face her.

"I needed a willing body," the yokai began. "The boy, how selfless and endearing, was willing to do whatever I— Sorry, not me. Whatever you wanted. So I fibbed a little white lie, pleading with him for help that only he could offer."

A figure emerged from the darkness behind the couch was another figure. He had Kana's face and height, but a much deeper and hoarse voice that didn't belong to him. Two sharp horns protruded from his forehead like the oni from Takamagahara.

"Kana…?" my voice cracked, saying his name.

"You will be disappointed to learn that Kana isn't here right now, at least not entirely. For the time being, I shall possess this body. It is quite sprigh and young, unlike my old one. You have come to make love with this boy, yes? How about allowing me, Shuten Doji, to partake in his place instead?" The possessed body of my childhood friend snickered.